Quantum Theatre premieres a poignant 'Affair'
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Tony Bingham, left, and Gayle Pazerski star in Quantum Theatre's world premiere of "The End of the Affair," supported by James FitzGerald in several roles. The play is adapted from the novel by Graham Greene.
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"The End of the Affair" is a terrific play. But what sort of a play is it?
Start with the title, which naturally makes us wonder what went wrong. You expect something like a psychological mystery.
Karla Boos' stage adaptation of the Graham Greene novel, directed by Martin Giles for Quantum Theatre, pretty much lives up to that expectation. Starting near the end (although the affair never fully ends, living on in jealous hope and resentment), the play twists back on itself, tracing the course of the affair in fits and starts from 1939 to 1946 until it finally arrives where it began.
Then it takes us further, to the end beyond the end. But that's not a definite end, either, because the affair lives on postmortem, in still-tormenting memory. Indeed, the play we're watching is itself a continuation of the affair, its realization (and perhaps expiation) in art.
Perhaps that's the real affair, the artists' love of the story, of narrative, of the passionate attempt to capture human emotion in artful telling, through words, mixing narration and dramatic scenes. No, there's no "perhaps" about it -- of course that's what "The End of the Affair" is all about.
Where: Former Emma Kaufmann Clinic, 3028 Brereton St., Polish Hill.
When: Through Oct. 30. 8 p.m. Wednesdays-Saturdays; 7 p.m. Sundays.
Tickets: $35-$45 (student discounts); www.quantumtheatre.com or 1-888-718-4253.
However, Mr. Greene, Ms. Boos and Mr. Giles have a further end in view -- "end" in both senses, not just a conclusion but also the true result that justifies the means. (Hamlet: "There's a divinity that shapes our ends.") "The End of the Affair" evolves into the account of a spiritual journey. The affair "ends" in a mystical arrival somewhere else.
So the title promises an account of one kind of end but delivers another.
This is what doesn't quite work as drama. How do you dramatize a spiritual resolution except by describing it, which is non-dramatic? In that case, it's not the epiphany that is dramatic, but the struggle to describe it. Or maybe I just don't believe in the spiritual arrival that is described. Perhaps the novel does this better -- I haven't read it and decided not to until after seeing the play.
Nonetheless, "The End of the Affair" is intriguing and deeply satisfying. It may even be a better play than Quantum's world premiere production shows. Requiring only three actors, it ought to go on to many productions elsewhere.
First Published October 14, 2011 12:00 am
